Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Do We Have a Game of Musical Chairs at Work for Miami's Port? By Geniusofdespair

Bill Johnson, Miami Port Chief, has made it no secret that he has his eye on the Beacon Council spot vacated by Frank Nero. Coincidentally, Juan Kuryla, Port of Miami Deputy Director, who got the post to head the port in Jacksonville unexpectedly withdrew his name according to the South Florida Business Journal. Was Juan promised the position as port director in Miami? It is the only thing that would make sense of this sudden withdrawal of his name.

The CEO job was offered to Kuryla two weeks ago by the Jaxport Board of Directors. Bill Johnson said he wanted a replacement lined up at the Port of Miami. I guess the National search going on to fill the Beacon Council vacancy is just a big fat sham. This deal appears to be already done and the players are in place. I think I will be proven right since Johnson has already said he liked and trusted Kuryla.

Also see the article by Robin Reiter - interim president of the Beacon Council - who doesn't mention this job search at all. Who is really driving the bus with the hiring at Beacon Council? I don't think Robin is even in the backseat. Maybe Mayor Gimenez is the driving force? If Kuryla gets the number one spot in Miami you will know all the cards have been played but the public and the search firm are being kept out of the loop.

22 comments:

Kyle
said...

Juan Kuryla's wife also works at the seaport as a government affairs liaison. (What a bogus unnecessary job!) The whole place is a cesspool of corruption and nepotism. Bill Johnson screwed up everything he touched (airport, transit, PAC construction, AA Arena contract, etc.) and yet has moved from executive job to executive job at the county for 30 years without so much as a job interview. The whole system at the county makes me wretch.

The Beacon Council should be abolished. What a waste of taxpayer money. Bill Johnson was the put in charge of the Performing Arts Center project as its construction budget ballooned from $250 Bil to $1+ BILLION. Taxpayers will be paying debt service on that scam for 60 years. South Florida needs better teachers and less corruption. It does not need the useless Beacon Council and its fat "pay and benefit" packages. Fat pay package? No wonder Bill Johnson wants the position.

Politicians need a dose of reality. They should give up their taxpayer funded benefits and their chauffeur driven limos and get real jobs in the private sector. No more $125,000+ pay and benefit packages handed out "connected insiders" like candy at Halloween.

From the sound of it, the public sector is trying to co-op the Council. Robin REiter appears to want to ward this off. If Bill Johnson gets in, plan on him working with the Mayor and County Commission. He is a career bureaucrat. Another power grab by the Mayor and commission.

Terry Murphy will never leave Natacha's side. They feed off each other's venom and when they are both running empty, the master venom Maribel Balbin Murphy replenishes them. The 3 of them walk around county hall as if they are still in power. LOL

No, we need the Beacon Council now more than ever. What has to change is our ability to select talent over relationships. We need someone who already has major contacts and business relationships in key places around the world who can effectively market our community around the globe. It is not a cushy job for a place holder who wants a big title, we have lots of positions for these kinds of people. Instead this is a place for an energetic dynamic vision-driven personality who can lead us in our quest for survival in the global marketplace. I certainly hope that the Beacon Council 's board understands the importance of this position to the future of this community and that talent not politics should govern their selection process.

This County is full of nay Sayers!! I am glad that Kuryla was selected; I am glad that we are recognized for having one of the best ports in the nation; and finally I am glad that someone among the ranks was recognized for his talent.

The only music playing are Kuryla's pockets. You should all aspire to be recognized and someday be rewarded for your hard work.

Economists recommend abolishing Departments of Economic Development and Beacon Council type organizations. Huge waste of money and resources. Economists recommend having a great school system and reasonably priced housing. Forget lying to out-of-town companies. Lying does not work.

Bill Johnson has never worked for the private sector. It is time he went out on his own and tried to find a job in the private sector. Let him experience life and capitalism first hand. Johnson needs life experience.

Gimenez just gave Kuryla an obscene 70%payraise to $300,000. Kuryla's background includes reassignment from his Public Works post to a remote field location because of improprieties, personal bankruptcy, an embarrassing incident in Dubai, coworker love affair leading to divorce, shady dealings with potential port vendors and clients resulting in Inspector General investigation, inability to show up for work before 10am, aggressive behavior toward law enforcement at traffic stops and other unstable episodes. He is favored by this administration and commission because of his ability to cater to their needs, including numerous foreign junkets using a Port Budget loophole. The Port budget includes a $5 million line item for payment in a legal judgment against the County for a judges ruling that the Port of Miami has a way of doling certain business permits illegally protecting incumbents -- ``creating a handful of entrenched privileged companies". The judge said evidence showed other ``established, qualified, competent and trustworthy,'' companies were denied permits even as some incumbents who didn't use their permits received automatic renewals. This is a rare surfacing of the hidden backchannel network that exists in the County for every major expenditure where privileged insiders are awarded business while those who are not tied into the system of lobbyists, commissioner aides and certain County staff are denied. Kuryla is person most responsible for this lawsuit due to his ability to manipulate the formal selection process.

Quote hall of fame - worth another look:

Complete this sentence: South Florida really needs a..."Regional plan for controlled growth (before it becomes a concrete jungle similar to Houston), and a completely new set of elected officials that make decisions based on what's good for the future of South Florida instead of what's good for their wallets.